Resort Municipality of Whistler

Whistler E-bike Policy Development 2019

Like most new technology, e-bikes bring benefits and drawbacks – many factors to weigh in deciding where e-bikes belong and where they don’t in communities. In Whistler, we worked with the Resort Municipality of Whistler to develop a community-wide e-bike policy, and engaged stakeholders and residents in the process.

As with many communities in B.C., Whistler residents are passionate about outdoor recreation and community trails. Not surprisingly, there was a healthy level of engagement in the e-bike survey and event, with almost 600 people providing input and voicing passionate opinions both for and against e-bikes generally and the proposed policy directions specifically.

We know that e-bikes are coming, that they enable more people to bike and enjoy outdoor recreation, and that enforcing restrictions will be extremely challenging. We also know that they enable people to go further afield than they might have otherwise and that protecting wildlife and sensitive ecosystems is critically important. Balancing e-bike pros, cons and community input was at the heart of our approach in Whistler.

Please contact Shannon Gordon ([email protected] or 604-906-0310), if you would like to learn more about an e-bike policy development process for your community.

Client: Resort Municipality of Whistler
Completion Date: 2019

Read the Community Engagement Report which summarizes the feedback from over 600 residents.